Feds Gather Experts, Seek Solutions To Bullying Problem

By |August 12, 2010

After several high-profile bullying incidents, the U.S. Department of Education is hosting the first federal school bullying summit this week, reports the Christian Science Monitor. Suicides linked to bullying – including the January suicide of Phoebe Prince in Massachusetts, which has resulted in nine felony charges against her classmates – have drawn particular attention to the issue, and several states are considering or enacting anti-bullying laws.

“People are really feeling the heat now,” says David Waren of the Anti-Defamation League, noting that 43 states have now enacted some form of anti-bullying legislation. “This is the first time this kind of initiative has taken place, bringing together so many disparate elements, and there really is a hope that it will create a critical mass or tipping point [] and out of that will create a more strategic and aligned and leveraged effort,” he adds.

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